What comes to your mind when you hear the word lemon? Is it something that is sour, or perhaps a car that broke down on the way out of the dealer’s parking lot? I believe I am safe in saying these are mental images many people have when they hear the word lemon.

It is not often I begin a column with a disclaimer, but such is the case here. All I am saying is that you need to check this information out for your own satisfaction.

With the help of Carolyn, a good friend down in the great state of Mississippi, I would like to pass along some great news about the lemon that could place this fruit in a very different light. Carolyn shared the following:

“Many professionals in restaurants and eateries are using or consuming the entire lemon and nothing is wasted. You may ask, how can we use the entire lemon without waste? It’s very simple ... place the washed lemon in the freezer section of your refrigerator.

“Once the lemon is frozen, get your grater and shred the whole lemon (no need to peel) and sprinkle it on top of your foods.

“Sprinkle it on your vegetable salad, ice cream, soup, cereals, noodles, spaghetti sauce, rice, sushi, fish dishes, the list is endless. All of the foods will unexpectedly have a wonderful taste, something that you may have never tasted before. Most likely, you only think of lemon juice and vitamin C. Not any more. Now that you’ve learned this lemon secret, you can use lemon even in instant cup noodles.

“What’s the major advantage of using the whole lemon other than preventing waste and adding new taste to your dishes? Well, you see lemon peels contain as much as 5 to 10 times more vitamins than the lemon juice itself. And yes, that’s what you have been wasting.

“The lemon peels are health rejuvenators in eradicating toxic elements in the body. Here is another surprising benefit. Lemon (citrus) is a miraculous product to kill cancer cells. It is 10,000 times stronger than chemotherapy. Why do we not know about that? It is because there are laboratories interested in making a synthetic version that will bring them huge profits.

“You can now help a friend in need by letting him/her know that lemon juice is beneficial in preventing the disease. Its taste is pleasant and does not produce the horrific effects of chemotherapy. This plant is a proven remedy against cancers of all types. As you know, the lemon tree is known for its varieties of lemons and limes.

“You can use the fruit in different ways: you can eat the pulp, juice press, prepare drinks, sorbets, pastries, etc. It is credited with many virtues, but the most interesting is the effect it produces on cysts and tumors. It is considered also as an anti-microbial spectrum against bacterial infections and fungi, effective against internal parasites and worms.

“Another benefit of the lemon is that it helps to regulate blood pressure which is too high, and as an antidepressant combats stress and nervous disorders.

“The source of this information is fascinating: it comes from one of the largest drug manufacturers in the world and says that after more than 20 laboratory tests since 1970, the extracts revealed that it destroys the malignant cells in 12 cancers, including colon, breast, prostate, lung and pancreas.

“And what is even more astonishing: this type of therapy with lemon extract only destroys malignant cancer cells and it does not affect healthy cells.”

In conclusion the article says, “So, give those lemons a good wash, freeze them and grate them. Your whole body will love you for it.”

After reading this article and deciding to share it with you, I went to the Internet (and Snopes) and checked it out and I plan to use much of this information. However, the claims made here are a mixture of true and false.

Citrus fruits contain many healing properties, but the jury is still out on what they can and cannot do in terms of fighting and healing cancers.